We are developing and will be implementing functional skills training for SFL teams (U13/14 and U14/15). The focus will be on functional/tactical and technical skills for transition from midfield to attack or defense to midfield.

Like a dear caught in the headlights, have you found yourself coaching your first youth soccer team and realized you don't know where to start? Are you an experienced coach but looking for a few new ideas? Are you too busy at home and work to find the time to put together a practice plan for every week?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, there is a wealth of resources available a few mouse clicks away at the US Youth Soccer website. BAC Rec soccer has adopted the US Youth Soccer model for player and club development so these resources will also blend with those availabe via coaching license courses and BAC's own Age Group practice sessions.

BAC will reimburse VYSA sanctioned E & F license registration fees to all registered BAC rec soccer coaches who successfully complete the course, even if BAC is not the hosting club. Class sizes are limited so act quickly to be sure you get a spot!

To register, follow the link above to the VYSA coaching education webpage, and select the link on the left for "Coaching Education Courses Scheduled". Regardless of the hosting club, be sure to pay the "Member Fee" amount as BAC is a member of VYSA.

Some of the most common complaints in recreational youth team sports are those involving "blow-out" or "lop-sided" games. Ask any seasoned coach and he or she will have plenty of personal experience with the winning side and the losing side of those games. Nearly all of them will tell you that being on either side of the score is not fun - players on both teams are not developing, frustrations mount on the losing team, winning teams may be more prone to gloating or other unsportsmanlike behaviour, parents and players may lose interest in the sport, etc.

The key to any score/game managment strategy is to have a plan in place before the kickoff. In many cases, its readily apparent who the stronger team will be during pre-game warmups. Regardless of which side of the predicted score line your team is on, this is the perfect time to have a friendly chat with the opposing team's coach and the referee to discuss game manegment strategies before emotions get too involved during the run of play. While the coach of the stronger team has a larger set of tools to use, the opposing coach has a few tools as well.

A few ideas if you're on the stronger side:

- play down a player

- force the use of the weaker foot or emphasize using new/unfamiliar skills

- limit playing time of more competitive players in favor of less skilled players while still giving all players at least 1/2 a game to play

- put more competitive players in unfamiliar positions

- require a minimum number of passes prior to shooting on goal

A few ideas if you're on the weaker side:

- play up a player or two

- change team strategy (e.g. focused on defending)

- have players focus on basic fundamentals (e.g. number of consecutive passes) rather than the score

Two last things to note:

1) Use discretion when employing game/score management tactics as emotions may run high with coaches, players and spectators. Consider using the referee as a mediator for game management tactics.

2) Be aware that as a coach, players AND parents look to you to set the tone on and off the field. If you get frustrated when things aren't going your teams way or you boisterously cheer the umpteenth goal, parents and players will likely follow your lead. In these cases, consider focusing on the smaller improvements of the game such as displaying what the player learned in practice last week or a new footskill.

To help our coaches, Burke AC has developed a House Program Guidebook. This book does not deal with things like what drills to run. Rather, it helps introduce coaches to the rules here at the Club and the way that things work here. It looks at things like setting up fields and which sideline to use. We try to be comprehensive but we will always miss something. Let us know if you have something you would like us to add.